The Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, visited West Midlands Police’s call handling centre to witness the significant improvements in 999 and 101 call handling times and emergency and non-emergency response attendance times.
PCC Simon Foster has continued to hold the force to account to ensure that these improvements in call handling times and response attendance times are sustained and, thanks to further investment, oversight and scrutiny, West Midlands Police are now responding to incidents quicker than ever before and are answering 999 calls in less than nine seconds.
In August 2024, the force answered 999 calls within eight seconds, with non-emergency 101 calls being answered within an average of 45 seconds.
Further reassurance for the public also shows how officers typically attended Emergency Response incidents in 11 minutes, 11 seconds in August 2024, compared to 12 minutes, 10 seconds in August 2023.
West Midlands Police also attended Priority Response incidents 20 minutes quicker than August 2023, with such incidents typically being resourced in 41 minutes, 58 seconds in August 2024.
PCC Simon Foster said: “The 999 and 101 service has been transformed. West Midlands Police are now delivering a service that the people of the West Midlands are entitled to.
“Thanks to the Force Contact Optimisation Project and dedication and hard work on the part of officers and staff, the public are in direct contact with West Midlands Police within seconds.
“I will, however, continue to hold West Midlands Police to account and work with the Chief Constable, so that these improvements are sustained and wherever possible there is continuous improvement, to ensure that WMP are preventing and tackling crime, protecting the vulnerable and improving access to justice, safety and security, for the benefit of the people and communities of the West Midlands.”
West Midlands Police’s Force Contact department, based in Aston, answered just under 1.5 million 999 and 101 calls in 2023. Staff also conduct a Live Chat support service and deploy officers to thousands of incidents and policing operations.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Welsted, who leads on Contact for the force, said: “We’re passionate about policing and that, of course, means the quality of the services we provide.
“We know how important it is for people to be able to contact us quickly and easily. That’s why we’ve been working really hard and identifying new ways of working, to make sure people can count on us. We are one of the best and most improved forces in the country when it comes to both our 999 and 101 service. Last month (August) we answered all 999 calls within an average of eight seconds. As well as 94% of 101 calls with an average answer time of 45 seconds.
“Over the past 12 months we’ve invested in new technology, created good new jobs and apprenticeships, introduced new teams, changed how we work and moved from remote hubs to a single site improving resilience, leadership and career opportunities.
“At the heart of every change, has been local people and their experience of West Midlands Police. Our service has been built around them, giving people more choices about how they contact us. People can now report every crime online via our new website. They can also choose whether to talk to us online via Live Chat, call us or visit us in person at a police station if they prefer face to face contact.”
Force Contact is the largest department in West Midlands Police. Do you want to make a difference, help people and potentially save lives? Join the team today: https://www.westmidlands.police.uk/police-forces/west-midlands-police/areas/careers/wmp-jobs/force-contact/
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